Senate approves water infrastructure bill

Thursday, May 16, 2013

The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed a Water Resources Development Act reauthorization bill by a vote of 83 to 14 that sets the stage for Congress to appropriate money for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to spend on maintenance of harbors and inland waterways, and for deepening and other water-related projects. Congress has not passed a WRDA law since 2007, which has put a freeze on new projects that industry groups insist are necessary to maintain efficient commerce and trade. Key sections of the bill would annually increase the amount of funding that is provided from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund and streamline the project delivery process for the Corps. The government collects between $1.5 billion to $1.7 b...